The invention relates to a component for making necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and the like.
Components are known which are used to make jewelery and costume jewelery--for example, from precious materials such as gold, platinum or silver--and which are decorative and designed to be joined together.
Irrespective of the shape of the decorative elements, they nevertheless have a first part with connection means and a second part bearing decorative elements or settings for stones or gems.
To this end the components--which are made from precious materials and, for example, form claw mounts--have hinges on their bases or collet bases, these hinges housing pins for connection to other structural elements of the piece of jewelery.
Alternatively, the piece is made up by linking together rings which have been welded to the sides of the body of the claw mount.
Joining or linking the various claw mounts together using these connection means is an extremely laborious process.
The process is made so laborious mainly because, in the first case, the shapes used to link the claw mounts together are complex to produce and, in the second case, a great many connection rings need to be welded to the claw mounts in order to make up the pieces of jewelery. The whole process is made even more lengthy and complex by the fact that the components are so small--the claw mounts used to make bracelets and necklaces can be as small as 3-5 millimeters in length.
Furthermore, the need to produce components that are both extremely precise, so that the finished piece of jewelery is of extremely high quality, and secure, in order to avoid them working loose accidentally--means that the work involved in linking the claw mounts together needs to be extremely accurate and slow.
Also, linking the claw mounts together in this way makes the piece of jewelery thus produced rather inelastic, which means that it is difficult to put on and fasten.
What is more, components that have been linked together tend to rotate easily on themselves while they are being worn, thereby hiding the decorative element or gemstone from view.